Camilo Cienfuegos

Camilo Cienfuegos (6 February 1932-28 October 1959) was the commander-in-chief of the Cuban Army from 1 January 1959 to 28 October 1959 and one of the founders of the 26th of July Movement, alongside Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, and Che Guevara. In this position, he was one of the leaders of the Cuban Revolution, and he was one of Castro's most trusted men before his death in a plane crash.

Biography
Camilo Cienfuegos was born on 6 February 1932 in Lawton, Havana, Cuba to a working-class family that had emigrated from Spain shortly before the Spanish Civil War broke out. He attended the San Alejandro National School of Fine Arts and worked at a fashion store before taking part in 1948 protests against rising bus fares, and he was kicked out of the United States while seeking employment there. In 1954, he became the leader of an underground student movement opposed to Fulgencio Batista's government, and on 5 December 1955 he was wounded when a policeman shot him while he placed a wreath on the grave of Antonio Maceo Grajales, who was an independence fighter in the 1890s. Going into exile in Mexico, he met Fidel Castro, his younger brother Raul Castro, and the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, Cienfuegos was one of the founders of the 26th of July Movement, and in December 1956 he was one of the 82 guerrillas who headed back to Cuba on the ship Granma to begin the Cuban Revolution. On 30 December 1958, he fought the Cuban Army in a tough battle for the outpost of Yaguajay, and he was hailed as a hero for his victory. In January 1959, he was named commander-in-chief of the Cuban Army after the success of the revolution, and he flew to Camaguey to arrest Huber Matos, who was possibly planning an anti-communist revolt. However, Cienfuegos died in a plane crash on the ride back to Havana, and his death was mourned by Cubans.